A cooking utensil with a draining function

Abstract

The application relates to a cooking utensil with a draining function, which comprises a pot liner and a draining valve arranged at the bottom of the pot liner, wherein the draining valve comprises a valve body composed of at least a valve shell and a valve cover which is detachably arranged on the valve shell, a valve cavity is formed in the valve body, a first sealing element and a ball valve matched with the first sealing element are arranged in the valve cavity, the ball valve is connected with the valve cover through a pull cable, when the valve cover and the valve shell are matched in place, the pull cable is in a relaxed state, the ball valve is sealed on the first sealing element under the dead weight, and when the valve cover is detached from the valve shell, the valve cover carries the ball valve and is detached through the pull cable; the application solves the risk of loss of key accessories or swallowing of the cooking utensil due to easy rolling and small volume of the ball valve in a non-cooking scene, and can guarantee the reliability of the ball valve return.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of kitchen appliance technology, and in particular to a cooking appliance with a draining function. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, people are paying more and more attention to healthy eating. In order to cook more nutritious and healthy ingredients, the draining function can be used to drain the ingredients during the cooking process. For example, when people want to control their sugar intake to treat diabetes or inhibit obesity, they can drain the rice water during the cooking process to reduce the sugar content of the rice. Another example is that when people want to avoid gout symptoms after cooking, they can drain the ingredients to remove purines, a key component that causes gout. Furthermore, when people want to cook mixed grain rice with a good texture, they can use a cooking method of adding water and draining repeatedly to subject the ingredients to hot and cold shocks, which will cause the seed coat of hard-to-cook ingredients to break down quickly, thereby increasing the cooking speed and improving the taste.

[0003] Taking rice cooking as an example, there are many existing methods for cooking rice. The most common method is to add a certain amount of water and rice to the inner pot of a cooking appliance, and then heat it to cook. Once the rice grains have absorbed water and gelatinized completely and the water has evaporated, cooked rice can be obtained. However, since this cooking method fails to remove the starch that has been released into the water, rice cooked using current cooking appliances is more likely to cause a rise in blood sugar levels compared to rice cooked after draining.

[0004] To remove starch from rice that has dissolved into water, thus obtaining low-sugar rice, Chinese patent CN201410261845.6 discloses a steamer, a cooking appliance, and a control method thereof. In this method, the steamer is placed inside an inner pot, with a certain distance between the steamer and the bottom of the inner pot. Rice is placed in the steamer, and a certain amount of water is added to the inner pot. The steamer has perforations. When the rice water boils, it can enter the steamer through the perforations on the side wall or through the gap between the side wall of the steamer and the side wall of the inner pot. The starch and sugar in the rice dissolve in the rice water, which then flows out through the perforations on the bottom wall of the steamer, carrying away the dissolved starch and sugar, resulting in low-sugar rice. However, achieving this by boiling the rice water to rinse the rice in the steamer is difficult, requiring the rice water to boil vigorously and splash high, thus often resulting in an unsatisfactory sugar-reducing effect.

[0005] Chinese patent CN201921351400.1 discloses a sugar-reducing cooking appliance, which also features a pot with an inner liner. The difference lies in the drainage channel at the bottom of the inner liner. During operation, the user adds washed rice to the pot and appropriate amount of water to the storage area until the rice is submerged. As cooking progresses, the rice starch dissolves into the water in the storage area, forming rice water. Opening the drainage channel allows the rice water to be drained. Finally, the remaining water is used to cook the rice, resulting in low-sugar rice. This design automatically drains the water, thus actively reducing the amount of water needed for cooking. Therefore, there is no need to consider the rice-to-water ratio; more water can be added to ensure the rice is submerged during the initial cooking stage, allowing for the full transfer of free starch into the rice water, thereby improving the sugar-reducing effect. However, rice needs to be cooked by boiling first and then steaming to fully cook it. Compared with traditional cooking methods, rice obtained by boiling first and then steaming cannot match the physical and chemical properties and taste (such as elasticity and aroma) of rice obtained by boiling first and then simmering, resulting in low user acceptance.

[0006] Chinese patent CN201820384854.8 discloses an electric cooking device, which also has a drainage channel at the bottom of the inner container. The difference is that there is no steamer in the inner container. The rice is cooked directly inside the inner container. In this way, the rice can be cooked in the traditional way of boiling and then simmering, and the rice water can be drained, thus obtaining rice with good taste and good blood sugar reduction effect.

[0007] However, replacing the steamer with the traditional method of boiling and then simmering rice can easily lead to more residue on the surface or inside of the valve body at the bottom. Therefore, the cleaning requirements are higher. If the cleaning is not thorough, the valve body will become clogged, affecting the drainage effect and making it easy for bacteria to grow and for residue to rot, thus contaminating the rice cooked later. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that the valve body can be easily disassembled and cleaned.

[0008] Using a ball valve to open and close the valve body reduces the number of internal components and has a simple structure, making it less prone to dirt accumulation. Therefore, ball valves facilitate user cleaning and reduce cleaning difficulty. Existing technology CN201020195750.6 discloses a valve cavity containing a return spring and a ball for sealing the valve port, and a lever mechanism that moves the ball upwards to open the valve port. The valve port is equipped with a sealing ring. When the front end of the lever pushes the ball upwards within the valve port, the ball overcomes the spring force of the return spring and disengages from the valve port, thus opening the control valve. The ball is held against the valve port by the return spring, and when the lever moves up and down within the valve port... The ball in this prior art is prone to lateral bending during compression due to uneven force applied by the lever. Furthermore, the return spring typically only rests against the ball without a fixed connection, making it easy for the ball to disengage under the bending of the return spring, causing the valve to malfunction. Moreover, the prior art does not disclose whether the return spring, ball, and filter screen can be disassembled for cleaning, which could lead to food residue spoilage inside the valve. Even if the filter screen is removable, the ball and return spring inside the valve cavity may be separate components, resulting in numerous parts that are easily lost.

[0009] In the existing technology CN201821314849.6, a limiting device is used to limit the position of the sealing steel ball, preventing it from detaching from the drain outlet and being lost during the movement of the outer pot. However, this existing technology does not consider the possibility of loss in other usage scenarios. For example, during the cleaning process, when the ball valve is taken out by the user for separate cleaning, it may easily roll and fall into the sewer or other hard-to-reach corners, causing it to be lost. Utility Model Content

[0010] This application provides a cooking appliance with a draining function. By adopting a ball valve self-sealing and connecting the ball valve to the valve cover via a cable, it solves the problem that current drain valves have many parts that are difficult to clean and that the ball valve is easily lost when cleaning.

[0011] This application provides a cooking appliance with a draining function, including a pot inner and a draining valve disposed at the bottom of the pot inner. The draining valve includes a valve body consisting of at least a valve shell and a valve cover detachably disposed on the valve shell. A valve cavity is formed within the valve body, and a first sealing element and a ball valve cooperating with the first sealing element are disposed within the valve cavity. The ball valve is connected to the valve cover by a cable. When the valve cover and the valve shell are in place, the cable is in a relaxed state, allowing the ball valve to seal itself against the first sealing element by its own weight. When the valve cover is removed from the valve shell, the valve cover can be removed along with the ball valve by the cable.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment of this application, the ball valve includes an open position located radially outside the valve cavity and a sealed position located axially in the valve cavity. The ball valve moves between the open position and the sealed position to open and close the valve body. The cable can be displaced radially along with the radial displacement of the ball valve.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment of this application, the valve cover is provided with a first connection point for connecting the cable, and the ball valve is provided with a second connection point for connecting the cable. When the ball valve is sealed to the first sealing element, the minimum axial distance between the first connection point and the second connection point is less than the length of the cable.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment of this application, a locking connection structure is provided between the valve cover and the valve body, and the valve cover is assembled with the valve body through the locking connection structure.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment of this application, the locking connection structure is a threaded connection structure between the valve cover and the valve body. The valve cover is rotated to achieve valve cover disassembly and assembly. The cable can self-twist as the valve cover rotates after the ball valve is seated on the first sealing element.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment of this application, the ball valve has an upper sealing boundary when it mates with the first sealing element. On the axially upper side of the upper sealing boundary, the surface of the ball valve is located within the valve cavity. On the axially lower side of the upper sealing boundary, at least a portion of the surface of the ball valve mates with the first sealing element for sealing. The valve cover has a first connection point for connecting the cable, and the ball valve has a second connection point for connecting the cable. The second connection point has different height positions as the ball valve rolls within the valve cavity, and the lowest height position of the second connection point is higher than the height position of the upper sealing boundary.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment of this application, the bottom of the inner pot is provided with a receiving channel, and the receiving channel has a detachable drain valve inside, the valve body is located in the receiving channel, and the valve body and the receiving channel are interference-fitted.

[0018] In a preferred embodiment of this application, the ball valve is provided with a connecting hole and a connecting part, a portion of the main body of the connecting part is embedded in the connecting hole and fixedly connected to the connecting hole, and another portion is exposed on the outside of the ball valve to connect one end of the cable.

[0019] In a preferred embodiment of this application, the cable is a rope-like object made up of small loops.

[0020] In a preferred embodiment of this application, the ball valve has a flattened portion, and the cable is connected to the flattened portion.

[0021] The technical solution provided in this application has at least the following advantages compared with the prior art:

[0022] To address the risk of cookware losing critical components or swallowing ball valves due to their easy rolling and small size in non-cooking scenarios, this application employs a cable to connect the valve cover and the ball valve. This allows the valve cover to be removed from the valve body along with the ball valve via the cable. Furthermore, the ball valve's own weight seals against the first sealing element, enabling easy return to its original position and avoiding the misalignment caused by the compression spring in existing technologies. This ensures the reliability of the ball valve's return. Attached Figure Description

[0023] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application.

[0024] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a cooking appliance with a draining function in some embodiments of this application.

[0026] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional view of the inner pot in some embodiments of this application.

[0027] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram showing the state of the drain valve being sealed by its own weight in the sealing position in some embodiments of this application.

[0028] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram showing the valve cover being removed from the valve body in one embodiment of this application.

[0029] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram showing the state of the drain valve in the open position in some embodiments of this application.

[0030] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram showing the state of the drain valve after it has rotated from the sealed position in some embodiments of this application.

[0031] 10. Main body of the appliance; 20. Pot liner; 30. Drain valve; 40. Heating device.

[0032] 21. Inner pot body; 22. Cooking cavity; 23. Bottom of the inner pot; 24. Installation port; 25. Installation tube; 26. Reception channel.

[0033] 31. Valve body; 32. Valve cavity; 311. Valve shell; 312. Valve cover; 3121. Filter hole; 33. First seal; 34. Ball valve; 341. Flattened part; 342. Connecting hole; 343. Connecting part; 35. Second seal; 36. Liquid outlet; 37. Cable; 371. Metal ring; 372. First connection point; 373. Second connection point; 374. Upper sealing boundary; 38. Threaded connection structure; 381. Internal thread; 382. External thread. Detailed Implementation

[0034] To better understand the above-mentioned objectives, features, and advantages of this application, the solution of this application will be further described below. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in these embodiments can be combined with each other.

[0035] Many specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a full understanding of this application, but this application may also be implemented in other ways different from those described herein; obviously, the embodiments in the specification are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments.

[0036] like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment provides a cooking appliance with a draining function. This function allows for the draining of ingredients during the cooking process. For example, when people want to control their sugar intake to treat diabetes or suppress obesity, the rice water can be drained during cooking to reduce the sugar content of the rice. Alternatively, if people want to avoid gout symptoms after consuming cooked food, they can drain the food to remove purines, a key component that causes gout. Furthermore, when people want to achieve a better-tasting mixed grain rice, they can use a cooking method of adding water and draining repeatedly to subject the food to hot and cold shocks, causing the seed coats of hard-to-cook ingredients to break down quickly, thus increasing the cooking speed and improving the texture.

[0037] This cooking appliance can be a rice cooker, electric pressure cooker, electric hot pot, or other cooking appliance that can add water to cook food. Such appliances generally include a main body 10, a heating device 40, and a pot 20. The heating device 40 heats the pot 20, which is detachably mounted on the main body 10. The pot 20 has a body 21 and a cooking cavity 22, where food is placed and cooked. Of course, those skilled in the art will understand that a specific cooking appliance, such as a rice cooker, may have other known structures besides the pot 20; these will not be described further in this embodiment.

[0038] Since the inner pot 20 used for cooking comes into contact with food, it needs to be cleaned frequently to keep it clean and hygienic. As described in the background art, in order to achieve the draining function, one possible way is to install a drain valve 30 at the bottom 23 of the inner pot, and the drain valve 30 should also be detachable for easy cleaning.

[0039] In some embodiments of this application, reference is made to Figure 2 , 3 As shown in Figure 4, the drain valve 30 includes a valve body 31 consisting of at least a valve housing 311 and a valve cover 312 detachably mounted on the valve housing 311. A valve cavity 32 is formed inside the valve body 31. A first sealing element 33 and a ball valve 34 cooperating with the first sealing element 33 are provided in the valve cavity 32. The ball valve 34 is connected to the valve cover 312 by a cable 37. When the valve cover 312 is in place with the valve housing 311, the cable 37 is in a relaxed state, allowing the ball valve 34 to seal itself against the first sealing element 33 by its own weight. When the valve cover 312 is removed from the valve housing 311, the valve cover 312 can be removed together with the ball valve 34 by the cable 37.

[0040] In some embodiments of this application, such as Figure 4 As shown, the cable 37 has a chain structure, that is, a rope-like object made up of small rings. For temperature resistance and durability, it is preferred to use metal rings 371 for connection. In order for the cable 37 to have the characteristics of a rope-like object - such as twisting, bending, partial deformation, etc., it also has the characteristics of a metal material.

[0041] In some embodiments of this application, the ball valve 34 is a stainless steel ball with a smooth surface that is easy to roll. In order to be able to seal on the first sealing member 33 by its own weight, the ball valve 34 is preferably a solid ball.

[0042] In some embodiments of this application, such as Figure 4 As shown, the valve cover 312 is provided with a filter hole 3124 to prevent solid matter in the pot from entering the valve cavity 32.

[0043] In some embodiments of this application, the first sealing element 33 is fixedly disposed on the valve housing 311. To ensure a good sealing life between the first sealing element 33 and the ball valve 34, it is preferable that the first sealing element 33 and the valve housing 311 are not detachably disposed. The first sealing element 33 is a silicone component, thereby possessing the ability to elastically deform. When the first sealing element 33 is fixedly and non-detachably disposed on the valve housing 311, the valve body 31 of the drain valve 30 may also include the first sealing element 33.

[0044] In some embodiments of this application, the drain valve 30 can be detachably installed at the bottom 23 of the pot, or it can be partially detachable at the bottom 23 of the pot.

[0045] As described in the background section, the existing technology uses a ball valve 34 to open and close the valve body. However, in cleaning scenarios, the ball valve 34 is easy to roll and is small in size, making it easy to lose. It may even be used as a toy by children, posing a serious risk of swallowing. The ball valve 34 is a key component for opening and closing the valve body 31. Whether from the perspective of ensuring the normal use of cooking utensils or from the perspective of preventing children from taking it off to play with or swallow it, the risks in non-cooking scenarios, such as cleaning scenarios or other non-use scenarios, should also be considered.

[0046] To address the risk of cooking appliances losing critical components or swallowing the ball valve 34 due to its easy rolling and small size in non-cooking scenarios, a cable 37 is used to connect the valve cover 312 and the ball valve 34 together. This allows the valve cover 312 to be removed from the valve housing 311 along with the ball valve 34 via the cable 37. Furthermore, the ball valve 34 is sealed by its own weight to the first seal 33, allowing it to easily return to its original position. This avoids the problem of misalignment caused by the compression spring in existing technologies, thus ensuring the reliability of the ball valve 34's return.

[0047] In some embodiments of this application, such as Figure 3 , 5 As shown, the ball valve 34 includes an open position located on the radial side of the valve cavity 32 and a sealed position located on the axial side of the valve cavity 32. The ball valve 34 moves between the open position and the sealed position to open and close the valve body. The cable 37 can move radially with the radial displacement of the ball valve 34.

[0048] It should be noted that in this application, the axial and radial directions are defined by the default placement of the pot, i.e., the up-down direction is the axial direction, and the left-right direction is the radial direction. Furthermore, upward is the positive axial direction, and rightward is the positive radial direction. Since the ball valve 34 in this embodiment is located at the center of the pot, the axis of the pot coincides with the axis of the drain valve 30. As shown in the coordinate system example, the Z-axis is the axial direction, and the X-axis is the radial direction.

[0049] The open position and the sealed position are not necessarily set at the same height. There can be a height difference between them in the axial direction. In this case, the radial displacement is one displacement component of the ball valve 34, and the other displacement component is in the axial direction.

[0050] When the ball valve 34 is sealed by its own weight on the first sealing element 33, if the valve body is opened and closed by pushing the ball valve 34 up and down, since the outer surface of the ball valve 34 is spherical, it is difficult for the ball valve 34 to be fully opened up and down along the axial direction when the push rod acts on the outer surface of the ball valve 34, and misalignment may occur. If the ball valve 34 cannot be fully opened up and down along the axial direction, it will be difficult for the ball valve 34 to fully open the outlet 36 of the valve body 31, which will easily affect the liquid drainage efficiency. In addition, the push rod will extend into the outlet 36, thereby occupying the space of the outlet 36 and reducing the flow rate of the outlet 36. In order to fully open the outlet 36 of the valve body 31, the ball valve 34 can move between the open position and the sealed position distributed in the radial direction. When it is in the open position, the outlet 36 at the bottom of the valve cavity 32 will be fully opened, thereby improving the drainage efficiency.

[0051] Since the ball valve 34 and the valve cover 312 are fixedly connected together by a cable 37, in order to reduce the interference of the cable 37 on the ball valve 34, a cable 37 that can move radially with the radial displacement of the ball valve 34 can be selected. That is to say, when the ball valve 34 moves left and right, the cable 37 can also move left and right, avoiding the risk of the ball valve 34 moving while the cable 37 does not move, thus preventing the ball valve 34 from normally opening and closing the valve body.

[0052] It should be noted that the motion of cable 37 does not necessarily involve a complete oscillation like a simple pendulum; rather, it may involve a portion of cable 37 undergoing radial displacement, rather than the entire cable 37 being displaced. For example... Figure 5 As shown, the metal ring of cable 37 has been radially displaced by at least L3 distances. Furthermore, it should be noted that when the valve moves from the sealed position to the open position, the ball valve 34 itself may rotate and roll, resulting in a similar situation. Figure 6 With the cable taut at 37 degrees, the radial displacement would be closer to that of a simple pendulum.

[0053] In some embodiments of this application, such as Figure 3 , 4 As shown, the valve cover 312 is provided with a first connection point 372 for connecting the cable 37, and the ball valve 34 is provided with a second connection point 373 for connecting the cable 37. When the ball valve 34 is sealed to the first sealing member 33, the minimum axial distance between the first connection point 372 and the second connection point 373 is less than the length of the cable 37.

[0054] The distances mentioned above are distances along the axial direction, not the distance between two points. Of course, if the two points are both along the axial direction, then the distance between the two points can be the distance between the two points. The first connection point 372 is a point that moves with the valve cover 312, and the second connection point 373 is a point that moves with the ball valve 34. It should be noted that the first connection point 372 can be directly set on the inner surface of the valve cover 312, or it can be a point on the connecting part of the valve cover 312 that protrudes from it. The second connection point 373 can be directly set on the ball valve 34, or it can be a point on the connecting part of the ball valve 34 that protrudes from it.

[0055] It should be noted that the ball valve 34 rolls within the valve chamber 32. Therefore, it's impossible for the ball valve 34 to always ensure that the second connection point 373 of the pull cable 37 is at the highest position on the ball. For clarity, the distance between the first connection point 372 and the second connection point 373 should be the minimum distance in the axial direction. Only when the first connection point 372 and the second connection point 373 are at their minimum distance in the axial direction can it be said that the second connection point 373 of the ball valve 34 is at the highest position relative to the ball surface. This is more significant for achieving a self-weight seal. Figure 3 As shown, ball valve 34 is seated in the sealing position, with a minimum axial distance of L1, as... Figure 4 As shown, the length of cable 37 is the length of cable 37 in the straightened state. When valve cover 312 is removed from valve body 311, cable 37 is straightened. At this time, the length L2 of cable 37 is greater than L1min.

[0056] During the use of the cooking appliance, the ball valve 34 is mostly in the sealed position, maintaining a seal with the first sealing element 33, so that liquid exists in the cooking chamber of the pot to complete the cooking. Therefore, from this perspective, it is more important for the ball valve 34 to reliably seal in the sealed position than to open the ball valve 34. Considering that the presence of the pull cable 37 may affect the reliability of the ball valve 34's seal, the interference of the pull cable 37 on the ball valve 34 should be reduced. To solve this problem, in the above embodiment of this application, the minimum axial distance between the first connection point 372 and the second connection point 373 is less than the length of the pull cable 37. In this way, the pull cable 37 can avoid applying large pressure or tension by deforming itself, so that the ball valve 34 can reliably seal in the sealed position by its own weight.

[0057] As described above, the ball valve 34 will roll within the valve cavity 32, and the second connection point 373 will have different states. The above design can ensure that after the valve cover 312 is closed, the ball valve 34 can seal itself against the first seal 33 by its own weight. However, if the cable 37 is too long, it will bring another problem. That is, when the second connection point 373 is at the lowest point, the cable 37 is not yet straight, which can easily cause the cable 37 to get stuck between the first seal 33 and the ball valve 34, affecting the normal sealing between the ball valve 34 and the first seal 33, and causing the risk of water leakage.

[0058] Generally speaking, such as Figure 6 As shown, when the ball valve 34 is engaged with the first sealing element 33, it has an upper sealing boundary 374. On the axial upper side of the upper sealing boundary 374, the surface of the ball valve 34 is located inside the valve cavity 32 and does not engage with the first sealing element 33. On the axial lower side of the upper sealing boundary 374, the surface of the ball valve 34 engages with the first sealing element 33 at least partially to seal.

[0059] To solve this problem, when the second connection point 373 rolls with the ball valve 34, the lowest height position that the second connection point 373 can reach should be at least above the height position of the upper sealing boundary 374. That is, the valve cover 312 is provided with a first connection point 372 for the connecting cable 37, and the ball valve 34 is provided with a second connection point 373 for the connecting cable 37. The second connection point 373 has different height positions as the ball valve 34 rolls in the valve cavity 32, and the lowest height position of the second connection point 373 is higher than the height position of the upper sealing boundary 374.

[0060] This design allows us to understand why the lowest point of the second connection point 373 is higher than the upper sealing boundary 374. Essentially, it reflects the maximum length of the cable 37. In other words, the extreme position of the second connection point 373 is only determined after the cable 37 is taut. Furthermore, once the cable 37 is taut, the ball valve 34 will have adjustment space due to the tension generated by the taut cable 37. This allows the ball valve 34 to further adjust itself to the optimal sealing state with the first seal 33 under the combined action of gravity and tension. Since the cable 37 is taut and above the upper sealing boundary 374, it is impossible for the cable 37 to be stuck between the first seal 33 and the ball valve 34, thus avoiding the risk of leakage due to the cable 37 being too long.

[0061] It should be noted that the above-mentioned different height positions are also viewed from the axial direction. The zero point of the specific height position may vary depending on the selected reference system. The different height positions and the lowest height position should be viewed relative to the selected reference system, rather than as absolute values.

[0062] like Figure 6As shown, when the ball valve 34 is in the sealed position, it illustrates the state in which the ball valve 34 rotates, causing the cable 37 to be taut. At this time, the axial distance L1max between the first connection point 372 and the second connection point 373 reaches its maximum, and the second connection point 373 is higher than the upper sealing boundary 374. The two have a distance D1 in the axial direction, where D1 is the difference between the height of the second connection point 373 and the height of the upper sealing boundary 374.

[0063] In some embodiments of this application, a locking connection structure is provided between the valve cover 312 and the valve housing 311, and the valve cover 312 is assembled with the valve housing 311 through the locking connection structure.

[0064] In the embodiments of this application, since the cable 37 is connected to the valve cover 312 and the ball valve 34 respectively, all three will be together, thus preventing the ball valve 34 from being lost. However, in some application scenarios, it is necessary to ensure that the three will not detach from the pot, such as when pouring water or when the pot is inverted. At this time, the ball valve 34 will no longer be sealed by its own weight to the first sealing member 33. The ball valve 34 will move towards the valve cover 312 side after the direction of gravity changes. Since the ball valve 34 itself has a certain weight, if the valve cover 312 and the valve body 311... If the valve cover 312, the pull cable 37, and the ball valve 34 are not securely fixed, there is a risk that they will fall off the pot body. In this case, the user may not want them to detach from the pot body, but only want to pour water, which would cause unnecessary trouble for the user. Therefore, considering that there will only be an incentive to disassemble and clean the valve cover 312 when the valve chamber 32 or the ball valve 34 and the valve cover 312 need to be cleaned, otherwise the valve cover 312 should be relatively securely fixed to the valve body 311 to avoid causing unnecessary trouble for the user. To address the aforementioned issues, the embodiments proposed in this application provide a locking connection structure between the valve cover 312 and the valve housing 311. The valve cover 312 is assembled with the valve housing 311 via the locking connection structure. In this way, the locking connection structure locks the valve cover 312 securely onto the valve housing 311. The user needs to release the locking effect of the locking connection structure to remove the valve cover 312, the pull cable 37, and the ball valve 34 from the valve housing 311. This ensures that the three components are relatively securely fixed to the valve housing 311, further improving the user experience.

[0065] The locking connection structure can be implemented in various ways, such as magnetic attraction, snap-fit, interference fit, etc.

[0066] In order to securely fix the ball valve 34 to the valve housing 311, and to withstand the weight of the ball valve 34, the cable 37, and the valve cover 312 without detaching from the valve housing 311 when the pot body is upside down and the ball valve 34 is pressing on the valve cover 312, preferably, as Figure 4As shown, the locking connection structure is a threaded connection structure 38 between the valve cover 312 and the valve body 311. The valve cover 312 is rotated to achieve the disassembly and assembly of the valve cover 312. Specifically, the valve cover 312 is provided with an internal thread 381, and the valve body 311 is provided with an external thread 382. The external thread 381 and the internal thread 382 are screwed together for a tight fit. After pre-tightening, the valve cover 312 can withstand the reduced weight without loosening.

[0067] After adopting the screw fastening method, both installing and removing the valve cover 312 require rotating the valve cover 312 to achieve a pre-tight fit of the threaded structure. Since the valve cover 312 is connected to the pull cable 37, and the other end of the pull cable 37 is connected to the ball valve 34, if the design of the pull cable 37 is not reasonable, the rotation of the valve cover 312 during the rotation installation process may have an adverse effect on the sealing of the ball valve 34. In order to reduce the adverse effects caused by the rotation of the valve cover 312, a scheme is adopted in which the pull cable 37 can self-twist after the ball valve 34 is seated on the first sealing element 33 and rotates with the valve cover 312. Of course, when the ball valve 34 is not seated on the first sealing element 33, the pull cable 37, the ball valve 34 and the valve cover 312 rotate synchronously.

[0068] It should be noted that the self-twisting means that the cable 37 itself has a certain possibility of spiral rotation. The cable 37 is not rigid; figuratively speaking, it is like a twisted rope. When the cable 37 can self-twistwist, it can absorb the negative impact of the rotation of the valve cover 312, thereby helping the ball valve 34 to reliably seal on the first seal 33 by its own weight.

[0069] Furthermore, in some other embodiments of this application, the locking connection structure is a magnetic connection structure, which allows the valve cover 312 to be magnetically attached to the valve housing 311 for locking and fixing. Compared to the threaded connection structure 38, the magnetic connection structure eliminates the need for rotating the valve cover 312 for disassembly and assembly, thus better ensuring that the ball valve 34 is not negatively affected by the cable 37, thereby effectively sealing the first sealing element 33. However, the magnetic method may suffer from insufficient magnetic force, requiring the use of a magnet with greater attraction, which would increase the cost compared to the threaded connection structure 38.

[0070] In some embodiments of this application, such as Figure 2 , 3 As shown in Figure 4, the bottom of the pot is provided with a receiving channel 26, and the receiving channel 26 has a detachable drain valve 30 inside. The valve body 31 is located in the receiving channel 26, and the valve body 31 and the receiving channel 26 are interference fit.

[0071] As described above, the drain valve 30 has a valve body 31, which includes at least a valve housing 311 and a valve cover 312. A valve cavity 32 is formed inside the valve body 31. That is, the valve housing 311 and the valve cover 312 enclose the valve cavity 32. The valve cavity 32 is provided with a first sealing element 33 and a ball valve 34. When the drain valve 30 is detachably installed in the receiving channel 26, it means that the valve cover 312, valve housing 311, cable 37, ball valve 34, and first sealing element 33 can all be removed along with the drain valve 30. In this way, the drain valve 30 forms a separate component. The user can directly remove the component and then disassemble the individual parts of the component. On the one hand, the component method improves the integration of the drain valve 30 and avoids the loss of key components. On the other hand, the drain valve 30 itself can be disassembled again, which facilitates the disassembly and cleaning of the component. In the component, the valve cover 312 and the ball valve 34 are connected together by the cable 37, which is not easy to be lost during the cleaning of the component.

[0072] Of course, in other embodiments of this application, the valve housing 311 can be integrally formed with the bottom of the pot. In this case, the detachable parts are the valve cover 312, the pull cable 37 and the ball valve 34. The valve cavity 32 is the cavity in which the three detachable parts of the valve cover 312, the pull cable 37 and the ball valve 34 are installed, and it is also the cavity for draining liquid from the pot. It can be used for two purposes in one cavity, which can further reduce the number of parts of the drain valve 30.

[0073] The aforementioned interference fit between the receiving channel 26 and the valve body 31 simplifies the assembly of the drain valve 30 assembly. To achieve this interference fit, only one sealing element is needed to simultaneously seal the valve body 31 and the receiving channel 26. This prevents liquid from leaking out of the receiving channel 26 and also ensures that the drain valve 30 assembly is not easily detached from the receiving channel 26. Figure 3 As shown, this seal can be referred to as the second seal 35.

[0074] In some embodiments of this application, such as Figure 4 As shown, the ball valve 34 has a flattened portion 341, and the cable 37 is connected to the flattened portion 341.

[0075] Since the surface of the ball valve 34 is spherical, there may be difficulties in machining and positioning when setting the connection point of the cable 37. To address this, a portion of the ball valve 34 is cut away to form a platform, and then a connection part for the cable 37 is set on the flattened portion 341. This solves the problem of the ball valve 34 surface being difficult to set connection points.

[0076] In some embodiments of this application, such as Figure 4As shown, the ball valve 34 is provided with a connection hole 342 and a connection part 343. A part of the main body of the connection part 343 is embedded in the connection hole 342 and fixedly connected to the connection hole 342, while the other part is exposed on the outside of the ball valve 34 to connect one end of the cable 37.

[0077] Specifically, in the above embodiments of this application, the exposed portion of the connecting part 343 is an annular metal buckle that moves with the movement of the valve body 31 and protrudes from the surface of the ball valve 34 or the surface of the flattened part 341.

[0078] To facilitate the fixing of the cable 37 to the ball valve 34, a connection hole 342 can be made on the ball valve 34, and the connecting part 343 can be embedded in the connection hole 342 to achieve a fixed connection with the connection hole 342. This ensures that there is a sufficiently reliable fixing point on the surface of the ball valve 34, avoiding the problem of the cable 37 being not securely fixed to the valve body 31. The exposed part is also part of the connecting part 343, so the force can be directly transmitted to the part embedded in the connection hole 342, which also facilitates the connection of the cable 37.

[0079] In some embodiments of this application, such as Figure 4 As shown, one end of the cable 37 is connected to the center of the valve cover 312.

[0080] The centrally located cable 37 facilitates the placement of the ball valve 34 onto the first seal 33, thereby improving the sealing performance of the drain valve 30. To facilitate connection of the cable 37, the valve cover 312 also features an annular metal buckle protruding from its inner surface, allowing it to be fastened to the cable 37.

[0081] like Figure 2 , 3 As shown in Figure 4, the bottom of the pot liner is provided with an installation cylinder 25 and a receiving channel 26 located inside the installation cylinder 25; when the installation cylinder 25 serves as a valve housing 311, the installation cylinder 25 is integrally formed with the pot liner (not shown in the figure); as Figure 3 As shown, the mounting cylinder 25 can be designed separately from the pot. In this case, the entire mounting cylinder 25 is located outside the valve shell 311 of the valve body 31. In order to facilitate the installation of the separate mounting cylinder 25 to the bottom 23 of the pot, an installation port is formed at the bottom 23 of the pot, and the mounting cylinder 25 is installed in the installation port.

[0082] During normal use, the ball valve 34 can be simultaneously placed into the valve cavity 32 by installing the valve cover 312 on the valve housing 311. At this time, the cable 37 bends and deforms as the ball valve 34 sits on the first seal 33, thus ensuring that the ball valve 34 can seal itself on the first seal 33 by its own weight. When removing the valve cover 312 from the valve housing 311, first straighten the cable 37, and then remove the ball valve 34 from the valve cavity 32 together through the cable 37. This makes it convenient for users not to lose the ball valve 34 during cleaning.

[0083] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0084] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, enabling those skilled in the art to understand or implement this application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this application. Therefore, this application is not to be limited to the embodiments described herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A cooking appliance with a draining function, comprising a pot inner pot and a drain valve disposed at the bottom of the pot inner pot, characterized in that: The drain valve includes a valve body consisting of at least a valve housing and a valve cover detachably mounted on the valve housing. A valve cavity is formed within the valve body, and a first sealing element and a ball valve cooperating with the first sealing element are provided within the valve cavity. The ball valve is connected to the valve cover via a cable. When the valve cover and valve body are in place, the cable is in a relaxed state, allowing the ball valve to seal itself against the first sealing element by its own weight. When the valve cover is removed from the valve body, the valve cover can be removed along with the ball valve via the cable.

2. The cooking appliance with a draining function according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ball valve includes an open position located on the radial side of the valve cavity and a sealed position located on the axial side of the valve cavity. The ball valve moves between the open position and the sealed position to open and close the valve body. The cable can be displaced radially as the ball valve moves radially.

3. The cooking appliance with a draining function according to claim 1, characterized in that, The valve cover is provided with a first connection point for connecting the cable, and the ball valve is provided with a second connection point for connecting the cable. When the ball valve is sealed to the first sealing element, the minimum axial distance between the first connection point and the second connection point is less than the length of the cable.

4. The cooking appliance with a draining function according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the ball valve is engaged with the first sealing element, it has an upper sealing boundary. On the axial upper side of the upper sealing boundary, the surface of the ball valve is located inside the valve cavity. On the axial lower side of the upper sealing boundary, at least part of the surface of the ball valve is engaged with the first sealing element for sealing. The valve cover is provided with a first connection point for connecting the cable, and the ball valve is provided with a second connection point for connecting the cable; the second connection point has different height positions as the ball valve rolls in the valve cavity, and the lowest height position of the second connection point is higher than the height position of the upper sealing boundary.

5. The cooking appliance with a draining function according to claim 1, characterized in that, A locking connection structure is provided between the valve cover and the valve body, and the valve cover is assembled with the valve body through the locking connection structure.

6. The cooking appliance with a draining function according to claim 5, characterized in that, The locking connection structure is a threaded connection structure between the valve cover and the valve body. The valve cover can be rotated to achieve valve cover disassembly and assembly. The cable can self-twist as the valve cover rotates after the ball valve is seated on the first sealing element.

7. The cooking appliance with a draining function according to claim 1, characterized in that, The bottom of the pot is provided with a receiving channel, and the receiving channel has a detachable drain valve inside. The valve body is located in the receiving channel, and the valve body and the receiving channel are interference fit.

8. The cooking appliance with a draining function according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ball valve has a flattened portion, and the cable is connected to the flattened portion.

9. The cooking appliance with a draining function according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ball valve is provided with a connection hole and a connection part. A part of the main body of the connection part is embedded in the connection hole and fixedly connected to the connection hole, while the other part is exposed on the outside of the ball valve to connect one end of the cable.

10. The cooking appliance with a draining function according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cable is a rope-like structure made up of small loops.

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